Harvard's small lineup too much for Cal

BERKELEY – Harvard's small-ball lineup produced a big win Saturday night over the Cal Bears.

Laurent Rivard scored 19 points, and Wesley Saunders 18, leading Harvard to a 67-62 victory, its first over Cal in three meetings.

Allen Crabbe, the Pacific-12 Conference's leading scorer, had a game-high 27 points for the Bears (8-4). Justin Cobbs scored 15 points, David Kravish 12. Richard Solomon had a career-high five blocks, and the Bears finished with 11, tying the school record.

Harvard (7-4) opened the game with four guards and no starter taller than 6-foot-6 forward Jonah Travis.

The Bears started three guards with the 6-10 Solomon and 6-9 Kravish.

The game pitted Harvard's quickness against Cal's size, and the little guys prevailed.

"We are smaller compared to them," Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. "Rivard is a kid, he's smaller on the post on the defensive end, but he might be a little tougher to chase around on the offensive end for their kids. That's been our best lineup. We've stuck with that for a few games. I like the rhythm that it's given our team. We space the floor well."

Rivard went 5 for 12 from long range and made a crucial three-point shot down the stretch.

The Bears had little depth in their backcourt because of injuries that sidelined reserve guards Ricky Kreklow (ankle) and Brandon Smith (concussion).

Walk-ons Robert Thurman, a 6-10 forward, and 6-7 forward Jeff Powers were the first Bears off the bench. Backup forward Christian Behrens (knee) also was out.

The Bears tried to attack Harvard inside – with little success.

"Statistically, they're one of the worst teams in the paint, but we couldn't take advantage of it," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said.

Stanford 65, Lafayette 59 in Stanford – Josh Huestis matched his career high with 14 rebounds for the Cardinal (9-4), which won for the fifth time in six games.

The Cardinal's Chasson Randle scored 16 points, and Dwight Powell added nine points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Leopards (5-10), who fell to 0-8 on the road.

UConn 61, Washington 53 in Hartford, Conn. – Shabazz Napier scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Connecticut (10-2) win its fourth consecutive game.

Scott Suggs scored 15 to lead Washington (8-5), which lost for the first time in five games.

Washington State 74, Idaho State 39 in Kennewick, Wash. – The Cougars (9-4) used a 20-2 run late in the first half to blow open a close game against the Bengals (1-10), who are 0-3 against Pacific-12 Conference teams this season.

Point guard Mike Ladd scored 17 points and had nine rebounds for the Cougars.

Towson 67, Oregon State 66 (OT) in Corvallis, Ore. – Marcus Damas connected on an 18-foot shot with eight-tenths of a second left to help the Tigers (5-8) defeat the Beavers (9-3).

Eric Moreland had 16 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and six blocks for the Beavers, who lost for the first time in seven home games.

Colorado 80, Hartford 52 in Boulder, Colo. – Josh Scott scored a career-best 21 points as the Buffaloes (10-2) equaled their best start since the 2005-06 season.

Evan Cooper led the Hawks (7-6) with 14 points.

Arizona State 68, Coppin State 52 in Tempe, Ariz. – Freshman playmaker Jahii Carson had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Sun Devils (11-2) defeated the Eagles (3-11).

Order Reprint